Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Purchased by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 364.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 358 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 1,516.2% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 598 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $81.86 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $87.59 and a 200 day moving average of $106.17. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $77.00 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Weatherford International’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFRD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their target price on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James cut their target price on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup cut their target price on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $147.29.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.